Donald Trump stokes grievance and retribution after indictment | Mike Kelly

BEDMINSTER — The Donald Trump grievance train was late to the party back here in the Garden State.

But no matter.

There was plenty to cheer about — at least in the minds of his followers and him.

On the day Trump was arraigned in Miami on 37 federal felony charges for allegedly mishandling top secret national defense documents, the former president, who wants to return to the White House, threw a fundraising party at his golf club here in the rolling horse-country hills of Central Jersey.

Bernie Kerik, the former New York City police commissioner who championed Trump’s false claims that he lost the 2020 election, was there to proclaim that America had become a “Third World nation” because of Trump’s indictment.

“This is no different than Cuba or Venezuela or Iran,” Kerik said in an interview with NorthJersey.com and The Record. “I never thought in my entire life I’d see a day like this.”

Mike “The Pillow Guy” Lindell, who became a close Oval Office adviser to Trump in the final days of his presidency, also showed up, telling as many people as possible that Trump’s latest legal difficulties would actually boost his campaign for the presidency.

“He’s the only thing that stands between us and the evil that’s out there,” Lindell told me.

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From a Miami courthouse to a party at a New Jersey country club

Then there was Trump himself.

The former president hopped onto his private jet in Miami not long after he pleaded not guilty before Federal Magistrate Judge Jonathan Goodman in federal court in Miami. Around 7:40 p.m., Trump’s plane landed at Newark Liberty International Airport. Trump was due to speak at Trump National Golf Club at 8:15 p.m.

In Bedminster, his followers — partygoers, actually — waited, listening to a soundtrack that included Queen’s “We Are the Champions,” the Village People’s “Macho Man,” the Beatles' “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds” and excerpts from the Broadway hit “The Phantom of the Opera.”

A little more than an hour later, after a trip along Interstate 78 in a motorcade with a police escort, Trump was standing on columned steps of his golf club — a building that looks eerily like an old-fashioned country courthouse — to proclaim to more than 400 fans that he was a victim of “the most evil and most heinous abuse of power in the history of our country.”

The juxtaposition of Trump’s day, from Miami courthouse to a party in New Jersey, was apparent to many in the crowd — and, of course, to Trump himself. For most, this might have been a somber day, perhaps a day to stay out of the spotlight. Not Trump. What seems so odd about his cascading legal problems in recent weeks is that he — and his followers — view them as a political opportunities.

Whether this effort to reshape reality will turn out to be true on Election Day 2024 remains to be seen, of course. But for now, the Trump campaign is trying to springboard off his recent federal indictment in an attempt to draw more attention to what he views as a need to send him to the White House again and to raise the money to pay for such a campaign.

In Bedminster, his followers who showed up promised that Trump's indictment would spark them to work harder for his reelection. But for now, the evening was a moment to cheer the man many in the crowd viewed as their nation's savior.

Midway trough Trump’s remarks, the former president noted that Wednesday — June 14 — would be his birthday, his 77^th.  The crowd broke into a rendition of “Happy Birthday.”

Trump stopped and appeared to be visibly moved by the show of emotion from some of his most loyal followers.

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But he quickly switched gears and jumped back into a nearly 30-minute listing of grievances against the Biden administration and what he termed the “deep state” that is attempting to trip up his political career.

“I did everything right and they indicted me,” Trump said after running through a list of allegations — some of them false or exaggerated — of how he has come to believe that President Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and President Joe Biden violated numerous laws and protocols for handling top-secret documents.

“It’s unthinkable what’s happened. So bad for our country,” Trump said. “They’ve done things that are horrible and absolutely unthinkable.”

'A total weaponizing of our judicial system'

Many in the crowd agreed.

Diep Ho, 49, a member of Vietnamese Americans for America First Values, traveled at his own expense from Wichita, Kansas, where he runs a machine shop that manufactures parts for jets.

“We here to support President Trump and protect our values,” Ho said.

Ho’s group included dozens of women, all dressed in red gowns, with blue and white strips running down the sides and “Save America” written across their chests. The women at one point gathered together and chanted “We love Trump” and “Trump is innocent.”

To the crowd’s delight, Trump reserved some of his most pointed remarks for special prosecutor Jack Smith, who brought the latest federal charges against him and is also investigating the former president's role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol building.

Trump called Smith a “thug” and a “deranged lunatic” who does “hit jobs” and “viciously arrests” public figures.

Trump added that his own family has been affected by what he calls unfair investigations. “What they’ve done to my family is a disgrace,” he said.

Standing in the crowd, Adam Solis, 32, the co-chair of the New York Young Republicans Hispanic Caucus, said he felt that Trump was a victim of overly aggressive prosecutors.

“It’s a total weaponizing of our judicial system,” Solis said, yet he also noted that he felt Trump’s prosecution would return to haunt Democrats.

“When the Democrats are panicking, they will do anything,” Solis said.

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The relentless appeal of grievance

But Trump’s latest focus — and that of his followers — on his longtime grievances with what he calls the “deep state” and a “witch hunt” to stop him politically is not just a legal argument — or even a debate over politics.

This is about money, too.

And, just as he did when he was indicted on New York state charges earlier this spring, Trump used Tuesday’s indictment as an opportunity to raise cash for his campaign.

At the former president’s golf club in Bedminster, Trump invited several thousand supporters and donors.  Several hundred showed up, Trump aides said.

Those who promised to raise $100,000 were treated to a “private candlelight dinner” with Trump. Others who contributed $23,200 were allowed to pose for a photo with the former president. Others who gave $6,600 were promised a “VIP reception.”

But the fundraising did not stop at Bedminster.

Just before 7 p.m., the fundraising arm of Trump’s campaign — “Team Trump” — emailed yet another appeal for donations across the nation.

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“Patriot," the email began, “What unfolded before our very eyes today is one of the most un-American scenes we may ever witness.”

The email went on to claim that “crooked Joe Biden and his Department of Injustice” were “attempting to silence and imprison their leading opponent — a completely INNOCENT man — all in the name of maintaining their regime’s grip on power.”

Larry Steinhouse, 59, clad in a red, white and blue flag-like sport jacket, drove from Ivyland, Pennsylvania, and contributed $23,200 to be in the crowd as Trump delivered what his staff described as “remarks” about his day in court.

Trump’s indictment is “complete b.s.,” said Steinhouse, a radio talk-show host and owner of a school that teaches financial investment techniques.

“Why not Joe Biden? Why not Hillary Clinton?” Steinhouse added, repeating a common, yet false, accusation among many Trump supporters that the president and the former secretary of state illegally withheld top-secret national security documents.

As he does with many speeches now, Trump promoted himself and his campaign to return to the White House as far more than just an effort to resurrect his political life. He sees his campaign as uplifting his followers, who have felt long-ignored.

No matter what happens in his court fight, Trump promised to keep fighting. The crowd cheered, shouting his name, “Trump, Trump, Trump, Trump.”

“I’m here and I love you all,” he said, “and we can take them.”

Moments later, he reflected on what he had seen in Miami as he drove from the courthouse to the airport for the flight back to New Jersey.

“I’ve never seen love in the streets like that,” he said. “I’ve never seen love like that.”

Still, moments later, he returned to his grievances.

“They want to take away my freedom because I will never let them take away your freedom,” he told the crowd. “They want to silence me so they can silence you.”

The crowd roared again. Trump had one more message.

“I’m the only one who can save this nation,” he said.

The crowd cheered again.

And Trump left. Inside, the fundraising continued.

Mike Kelly is an award-winning columnist for NorthJersey.com, part of the USA TODAY Network, as well as the author of three critically acclaimed non-fiction books and a podcast and documentary film producer. To get unlimited access to his insightful thoughts on how we live life in the Northeast, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: kellym@northjersey.com

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Trump indictment: Grievance, retribution frame response